Wednesday, May 20, 2015

“Football should Unite and not divide”

“Football should Unite and not divide”

Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA has met with both Palestinian and Israeli authorities this week in an effort to stop the politicizing of football in the region. Palestinians are attempting to get Israel suspended from the association, and want the matter put to a vote at the upcoming FIFA Congress

Blatter met with the Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and President of the Palestinian Football Association Jibril Al Rajoub and with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the President of the Israel Football Association Ofer Eini.

“I had constructive meetings with the Palestine political and football authorities," said FIFA President Blatter. "We all agree football should unite not divide. I came on a mission for peace – football should foster peace and leave politics aside. Based on my talks over the last two days, I remain confident, despite the challenging situation, that we should be able to find a solution in the interests of football and all parties involved ahead of the Congress."

Blatter has spoken out against suspending the Israeli Football Association, saying such a move would set a "dangerous precedent".

"This is not football. That's why I'm on a peace mission." He has proposed a “peace match” between Palestinian and Israeli teams. Netanyahu welcomed the idea but it was rejected by Rajoub

In the meanwhile, migrant workers in Qatar, building a stadium for FIFA's 2022 World Cup are dying at the rate of 1 every 2 days and the world remains silent.